Enjoy, laugh, disagree or simply empathize with those who lived life in THE sixties and are now rockin' life in THEIR sixties, and beyond.

No news is good news

Watching the nightly news on television has become like a bad habit, even an addiction that’s hard to break. I don’t particularly enjoy it; I end up feeling worse afterward, and there seems to be no distinguishable benefit derived from the entire effort. It’s difficult to describe exactly what I do expect but I know instinctively it’s not what we’re currently getting.

Every night the news opens with the latest on-the-spot police action; someone’s robbed a store using a gun; there was an accident on the highway and traffic is stopped in both directions; or an arrest has been made in last week’s robbery of a convenience store. This is followed by another on-the-spot report from City Hall, Queen’s Park or Ottawa about the latest government screwup or waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. After that bit of sunshine, we segway into a story about the newest local business fraud or corporate rip-offs we should know about, often with live video of a naïve senior citizen who was scammed.

Sometimes I think they’d be more accurate using a Ouija board.

The news is interrupted every two minutes to bring us up to date on the latest weather because in case we haven’t looked out the window in the last ten minutes, we need to know what’s probably not going to happen tomorrow. Despite zillions of dollars invested in meteorological technology they are wrong a shocking amount of the time. Remember the major false alarm about the snow storm of the century that recently closed down New York for a couple of days? I think Canadians’ obsession with weather began with our agricultural ancestors who needed to know whether frost was going to decimate the crops or whether it’s going to okay to hang the washing outside in the morning. That zeal for a steady supply of weather intelligence is now fueled by nervous commuters who need to know what they might not be able to see through their livingroom windows or the windshields of their SUVs.

Following alternating bits on weather and crime we are fed the latest information about international terrorism designed by keep us on the edge of our seats and swearing to never travel again. After that, the health news brings us up to date on the latest research on genetically modified foods and the dangers of pesticides or the medications we’re taking. And in case we happen to be one of the ones who are genuinely trying to eat healthy, any hope we had is dashed when we’re presented with more facts and figures that confirm that everything we eat will cause cancer no matter what we do anyway.

The business report cheers us up by reminding us we’re going broke. The Canadian dollar is in the toilet which is good for exports but bad for the poor folks who save all year to go to Florida to escape our shitty winters (see weather above). The stock market is killing our investments and forget about safe GICs or other investment vehicles; they’re paying 0.5% interest so we don’t have a hope in hell of being able to retire—ever—which is good for mortgage rates but no one can afford the insane house prices. Fortunately the banks are making money but they’re too busy thinking up creative new ways to add punitive service charges for using our money or for mailing seniors a paper copy of their statements.

What a lovely way to teach your children and grandchildren about good sportsmanship; take them to an NHL hockey game.

Then, there’s sports. It’s all about a bunch of overweight millionaires who can barely catch a flyball or interception but think they’re entitled to beat their wives and girlfriends without being penalized or even held accountable. Because they are in the revered realm of professional sports their crimes are minimized or even overlooked. And the reason these same wives and girlfriends stick by their man—they’re afraid of them. Professional hockey has fallen from being the fast, skilled sport we knew in the fifties and sixties to an MMA free-for-all overseen by blind referees who happily feed the masochistic crowd’s lust for blood. What a way to get your jollies.

Finally, the last five minutes of the news is a replay of all the horrors we have watched for the past forty minutes or so. I really do like to know what’s going on in the world and I confess I’ve frequently been frustrated by ignorant people who don’t seem to know what’s happening in current events. But it’s ultimately less stressful and depressing being simply ignorant. And the more I watch of the nightly news, the more convinced I become that that one hour per day would be better spent cleaning the fridge or pumicing my feet. And that’s why I’m going to miss Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart so much; they at least made me laugh when they delivered the news. Unfortunately, it’s no longer a laughing matter.

For further insights into the Boomer perspective on business, fashion, mind and body, book and movie reviews, order my book, BOOMERBROADcast. It makes a great hostess or birthday gift as well as just a fun read.

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As an early Baby Boomer, born in 1947, it seems to me that as we approach our retirement years, Boomers have gone from being the energy driving our nation to slowly becoming invisible. We risk losing our identity as society remains stubbornly youth-centric. And the irony is that Gen Xers and Ys are not the majority; we are. BOOMERBROADcast is my platform for being the voice of Baby Boomers, women in particular. We've generated a lot of changes over the decades but there's still a long way to go. After a 40-year career in the corporate world, I've taken up expressing the observations and concerns of our generation. Instead of pounding the pavement in my bellbottoms with a cardboard sign, I'm pounding my laptop (I learned to type on a manual typewriter and old habits die hard).
If you have issues or concerns you would like voiced or have comments on what I've voiced, I'd love to hear from you. We started breaking the rules in the sixties and now that we're in our sixties it's no time to become complacent. Hope you'll stay tuned and if you like BOOMERBROADcast, share it with your friends.
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Lynda Davis

2 thoughts on “No news is good news”

For an unbiased, objective and non sensationalistic news report, watch the BBC World News. They don’t report anything that has not been substantiated. I believe in keeping in tune with what’s happening out there and this is my go to source. It really is the best. Watch Katty Kaye reporting at 5pm on channel 171 Comcast here in Florida. She’s one of my idols!

Thank you “dear reader”. I do watch BBC and you’re absolutely correct. Lynda Davis Follow my blog at: http://www.boomerbroadcast.net Social commentary on life from a Boomer Broad’s perspective e-mail: lyndadavis1@yahoo.ca For further insights into the Boomer perspective on business, fashion, mind and body, order my new book, BOOMERBROADcast. It makes a great hostess, birthday or Christmas gift. Click on this link: http://www.lulu.com or http://www.amazon.com